Given the stress involved in creating her last album, Embracing Voices, Jane Bunnett could have been forgiven if she’d occasionally wished she’d stuck with her initial concept of a stripped-down jazz record. “The Embracing Voices project was really grand at a time when it was very difficult to do a grand project,” the acclaimed Toronto-based composer, saxophonist and bandleader says.

The situation with the record label was uncertain and a couple of grant applications had been turned down, but Bunnett and Larry Cramer (her producer, trumpet player and husband) forged ahead with their most ambitious project yet. As the title suggests, the album incorporates vocals more than any of the prolific Bunnett’s previous 13 albums.

The catalyst for the project was Bunnett’s desire to work further with legendary 10-piece Cuban/Haitian choral ensemble Grupo Vocal Desandann, with whom she’d collaborated on her Cuban Odyssey album. “I wanted the record to show them off,” she says. The powerfully soulful voices of Desandann are featured on every track, but this is far from a conventional world-music album. Three traditional songs that are part of their repertoire were included, since, as Bunnett says, “It would have seemed odd to not do some of the Cuban-Haitian material. That’s what got me interested in their music — the shivery quality you get from hearing them sing those songs.” Elsewhere, the group’s vocal skills are employed on original and adventurous new compositions written by Bunnett, Kellylee Evans and Canadian jazz elder statesman Don Thompson. They also accompany Molly Johnson on a version of the Jacques Brel/Rod McKuen classic “If You Go Away.”

After honing her compositions during an Algonquin cottage summer, Bunnett and Cramer travelled to Cuba to meet with Desandann. “I just wanted to see if my ideas were on the right path and to get some feedback,” she says. Then fiscal reality hit, almost scuttling plans for the recording. “I really didn’t have any money,” Bunnett recalls. “I personally wanted to pull the plug on the project but Larry wouldn’t let me.”

The recording sessions in the artistically stimulating environment of The Banff Centre went much more smoothly. The one nerve-wracking moment came when, through a small miscommunication, writing partner Kellylee Evans arrived without the anticipated completed lyrics to four songs. “She got down to business quickly, and I was really happy with the way she connected with the essence and feeling of the tunes,” says Bunnett. Evans also contributed vocally to her four co-compositions.

Embracing Voices has brought Bunnett even more critical kudos and peer respect. Her groundbreaking 2000 album, Ritmo + Soul, earned a Grammy nomination, and the new disc won a 2009 Juno Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. The positive response translated into a major cross-Canada tour featuring Desandann and, for different legs, vocalists Evans and Elizabeth Shepherd. “The energy on the stage with all those people performing at such a high level was so infectious,” says Evans. Bunnett calls the tour “strenuous. We had 17 dates in a row, and the logistics were insane. We were travelling by van and RV, with more people in the RV than we should have had. We had to tell the guys not to hang their arms outside or the cops would see too many arms! We’d buy chicken, rice and beans so we could cook Cuban meals in the RV. It wasn’t a glamorous tour, but it was important. We went into smaller communities, and that was so rewarding.”

The most crucial creative relationship in Bunnett’s career has been with Cramer. As well as producing all her albums, he has helmed recordings by such artists as Hilario Duran and Marilyn Lerner. “He does a lot of crazy artistic things — he thinks outside the box,” says Bunnett. “I remember making Alma de Santiago, with 60 people in the studio and recording live off the floor. His knowledge of jazz is huge and his instincts are so good.”

Evans has closely observed the duo’s complementary approach. “Larry is always pushing you to go further, to keep reaching for an idea,” she says, “and then Jane is cool at putting together pieces you wouldn’t expect to fit.”

Never ones to rest on their laurels, Bunnett and Cramer are looking ahead to new projects. “We already have a title for our next album: Moves and Grooves,” says Bunnett. “It will be a small group record, with guests, and it’ll be a really up, funky record.” Beyond that, Bunnett says, “I want to branch out. I’d love to write for dance and film, do some things in a more collaborative way.”

FYI
Publisher: In Due Time
SOCAN member since 1988
Selected discography: Embracing Voices (2008), Radio Guantanamo (2005), Ritmo + Soul (2000), Spirits of Havana (1991)
Visit www.janebunnett.com

Kerry Doole is a frequent contributor to Words + Music